Cleverscope - All Forum posts

CAN Protocol Decoder Status? (post by pault)

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:25:03 +1200

Is there an update on when we can (or if we can) expect the CAN protocol decoder? We have been following this literally for years, and it is one of the reasons we have been purchasing these units. Dec 2009 it was coming "quite soon". May 2011, the status was "back to working on it". May 2012, the status is?

Thanks

W7 bugs (post by bartschroder)

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:40:12 +1200

Hello Sorry about the huge time taken here.
Somehow you have lost your Cleverscope.ini file. We will look into it.
In the meantime open Notepad as an admin, and create a file called Cleverscope.ini in the C:\Program Files\Cleverscope directory. Make sure the Cleverscope.exe is closed.
Copy these lines into it

[Cleverscope]
HideRootWindow=True
appFont=""Tahoma" 13"
dialogFont=""Tahoma" 13"
systemFont=""Tahoma" 13"

That should fix it.

4-channel installation (post by leonet99)

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:15:48 +1200

I have 2 CS328 and connected them for 4-channel use.
I have just performed a full install on a laptop I had running vista and downloaded and unzipped the 4-ch app into the Program files - Cleverscope folder.
The short explanation beside the "CScope 4 Channel" file on your downloads page mentions that I should be getting more details in a pdf coming with the downloaded file: "The Four channel application pdf tells you what you need to know"...
...Well there is no pdf coming with this 4-ch app zip file.
I would appreciate if you fixed this on the website and/or you emailed me this file.e
I did give it a shot and started the 4-ch app, which quickly prompted me to browse and select the lvinput.dll library in the data folder but I only found a file name close to that and that's what I loaded: lvinputCS.dll.
The application started successfully after this point and I didn't get to use it much but it seems to be running.
Of course, I hope to be getting useful details about the 4-ch operation contained in this pdf document I am looking for.
Thank you and wish you a bright week in NZ

Charting feature (post by telcoeng)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:09:26 +1200

I've just udated to application version 4.662. Should be good but when will charting be standard? Or is it burried in the menus?
I got a beta version 4.651 some time back and it did charting great. I use it a lot. Once I captured a RS232 line from a soanar sensor and it's analouge signals and exported them into LabCenters Proteus simulation tool for micro controller code development. How cool is that! (Export depth could be longer though)

Version 4.662 still winges about USB not working when the ethernet connection is lost. And I still don't see why a PICkit programmer breaks CleverScope application from loading when I are only using an Ethernet connection.

Is multiple displace traces coming for the maths window?

W7 bugs (post by zega)

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:10:55 +1200

I have Cleverscope 328A.
I just installed software on Win7 Prof. and experience bunch of "bugs"...
First one is time axes (freq in spec analyser) is weird off so i cannot see time dev prefix (see the picture attached).
I probably have enlarged win system font but that should not present a problem for your software?!

Also zooming/changing axes scaling one way works but the other does not (i.e. i can zoom out voltage or time but cannot zoom back in using any method, scroller wheel, buttons, ctrl-L L/D arrow, whatever i use it does not work both ways), i have to use autoset to get back, and that one i sluggish compared to some other Scope, FFT, MLS software i used (in that case i recommend visual analyzer just to feel for really nice free scope FFT SW))
Buttons so small, that is funny, font is enlarged like you suggested in one of the articles on the forum.
Forum does not have search so i cannot help to ask questions that might already been asked before.
Regards

z

scientific notation on Scope axis (post by bnevins)

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:16:13 +1200

It would be great if the scope axis could be in scientific notation, both in linear and log mode.
The reason is that I workd with small signals, and with so many zeros, it is hard to read the axis values.

Especially in log mode, I cannot use the math functions on DB values, but it would be easy for the math to work on scientific notation values.

Also the table should read in scientific notation 0.000056V is hard to read!

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by timor)

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:11:45 +1300

Hi,

UPDATE:
also when i include in the installer the runtime engine 2010 and the ni visa, it's not work on computer without labview.

any suggestions?

Aquisition problem - Problem with the USB port (post by LordNelson)

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:48:59 +1300

Dear bartschroder,
I have tried to deactivate firewall and anti-virus software, but nothing changed. But I'm used to this behavior now, so I can work with it quite comfortably.
Thanks to you and your team for putting such an effort into this!

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by timor)

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:58:27 +1300

hi,

yes, those are the drivers that i am using. (checked on pc with windows7 64bit and pc with xp 32bit)

NI-VISA Run-Time Engine 5.1.1 - http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/2662/lang/en
tried also NI-visa 5.1.1 full
Labview runtime engine 2010 - http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/2087/lang/en

the failure is still 1003
"Open VI Reference in cscope run vi.vi->Cscope control driver.vi->Minimum scope.vi<APPEND>
VI Path: cleverscope:\Cscope control driver runtime.vi"

Problem with filters. (post by bartschroder)

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:52:56 +1300

Hello Hugo,
I looked into the labview in your diagram, and have to admit finding it hard to understand. There were several errors in the wiring to the filters (wiring the sample rate to the lower cutoff frequency, and the sample rate was not correctly generated).

In the end, I made a new VI called ‘Freq Selective Voltmeter.vi’, which I believe does what you want. Simply wire it into play in Simple Scope as:

I attach the vi.
You can wire terminals to define the centre frequency, and filter numbers for the vi if you want to programmatically control these.

Good luck with this.

Kind regards

Bart Schroder
Cleverscope

Problem with filters. (post by Hugo_8)

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 07:43:11 +1300

Hello,

I am trying to implement a filter over the Simple Scope program. The idea is to filter the signal that the program receives from Channel B and then show the Power spectrum of it. For some reason the filter is not working well. I have checked the Power Spectrum of the signal before filtering it and it is correct.

I attached the VI.
Could you give me any suggestions?

Thanks,

Hugo.

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by bartschroder)

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:14:41 +1300

Hello, did you also install NI visa? It is needed to provide the USB or ethernet services.
The easiest way tyo do this is to include NI-Visa in your build, as well as the runtime.

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by timor)

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:10:11 +1300

hi Bart,

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, the EXE working now.

unfortunately it's working only on the computer with the labview, on another pc it's not working.
of course i installed the labview runtime engine 2010.

the error code is 1003 and this description -
"Open VI Reference in cscope run vi.vi->Cscope control driver.vi->Minimum scope.vi<APPEND>
VI Path: cleverscope:\Cscope control driver runtime.vi"

any suggestion?

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by bartschroder)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:53:48 +1300

Hello Timor,
Sorry - I can't quite make out the picture. Perhaps you are doing the right thing, but yourt description is not clear.

Open the Simpe Scope .lvproj project (it's in the driver).
Now open the Build Specifications. See the Image below. You will see one called Minimum Scope.
Double click on it, and it should open.
You shoudl see the second image. I have clicked on the Source Files Category. On the right hand side you can see 'Always Included'. This is the dynamic VI.

Use the build as a template for building your own.

I hope this helps.

regards

Bart

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by timor)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:22:44 +1300

Hi Bartschroder.

first- thanks on your support.
second- i tried several time with the dynamic option that you wrote above, and i think that my problem is somewhere between.

my process:
1.open Cscope control driver.
2.open my minimum scope. (the vi is working ok from the labview)
3.from the front panel i open the Build App.
4. two windows now on my secreen. the properties window of my vi. and the project explorer window that is not available to use.
5.close the properties window in order to work from the Project explorer window.
6.in the project explorer window i stand on my computer and select add file.

******in order to select the Cscope Control Driver Runtime.vi, i open the Cscope Control Driver Runtime.vi and save as it in new location.*******

7.after i select the file i see this screen. (Untitled.png)
8.Untitled2 show the attaching of the dynamic vi.

after all this process i receive failure code 1003 and this description -
"Open VI Reference in cscope run vi.vi->Cscope control driver.vi->Minimum scope.vi<APPEND>
VI Path: C:\Users\tester\Desktop\builds\Minimum scope4\cleverscope\Cscope control driver runtime.vi"

i hope this post will help you to show me what is wrong in my process.
many thanks,

Can cleverscope run on any Linux platform? how? (post by bartschroder)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:34:30 +1300

Hi Morgan,
send an email to kane.evansmcleod at cleverscope dot com, and he will help you!

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by bartschroder)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:32:43 +1300

Hello Timor,
You need to have the Cscope Control Driver Runtime.vi included as a dynamic VI. If you look at the simple scope.prj project included in the driver, you will see build specs for several implementations, including minimum scope. You can use this as a starting point.

After you open the build spec, click on the Source Files entry on the left, and then under Startup VI's you will have Minimum scope.vi. Below that, under Always Included, you put Cscope control driver runtime.vi.

If you look in 'Cscope Control Driver vi description.pdf', included in the driver, you will see a discussion of the dynaamically launched vi under the heading 'Control driver vi's' on the first page.

I hope this helps.

averaging in frequency domain vs. time domain (post by bartschroder)

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:24:33 +1300

Hello Bryan,
Currently we average in the time domain if 'Triggered' (ie we have a coherent trigger), and in the Frequency Domain if Auto (assuming no coherent trigger). However, as you say, we average only if the averaging button is pressed. You are suggesting that if Averaging is selected, and Auto is being used, then the time domain is not averaged, but the frequency domain is.

But many people use Auto capture as standard, on the assumption that there is a trigger, and for them, being able to average in the time domain is still useful.

I think we will go with Option 3. We'll put it on our list.

Can cleverscope run on any Linux platform? how? (post by morganhedges)

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:08:01 +1300

Hi,

Is it possible for my to get my hands on some stage of this libUSB code? Even a barely functioning version would be very helpful for my current efforts.

Morgan

minimum scope after changes to exe (post by timor)

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:54:58 +1300

hi,

i am new with labview and i need your help.

i did several changes in the minimum scope.vi and it's working good ,now i want to build exe file.
i used the builder application in my labview 2010 and the error code that i receive is 7.

"Open VI Reference in cscope run vi.vi->Cscope control driver.vi->Minimum scope.vi<APPEND>
VI Path: C:\Users\tester\Desktop\builds\Minimum scope2\cleverscope\Cscope control driver runtime.vi

Built Application or Shared Library (DLL): Make sure all dynamically loaded VIs were properly included in the build specification for the applicati"

please your kindly support.
best regards,

averaging in frequency domain vs. time domain (post by bnevins)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:23:50 +1300

As I mentioned on the telephone, I would like to use the averaging function on the power spectrum, but have the scope graph show the real time, un-averaged signal.

Here are three ways to implement this:

1) Control Panel: separate “Averaging” buttons for time and frequency domain. This might confuse users, and adds “clutter” to the already complex GUI.

2) Acquire mode: Auto mode would use averaging in the frequency domain, but not in the time domain mode. This is consistent with the idea that “Auto” is for noise signals, where time domain averaging is not helpful, but frequency domain averaging is valid. Triggered mode would apply averaging to both time and frequency domain, which is logical for a periodic signal with superimposed noise or interference.

3) Settings/Averaging: The default mode would apply average to both time and frequency domains, as in the current implementation. The user could select:
“Do not average Scope Graph display”, so that averaging would only affect the
Spectrum graph.
_____________________________________

Using Cscope control driver vi (post by appypaddy)

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:23:54 +1300

Command are
Unsigned 16 bit value.
Values are:
0 - Inititialize. Call this once to initialise the acquisition system
1 Acquire. Call to acquire data as defined by the Acquire Definition and other parameters.
2 Replay. Call this to re-decimate the capture buffer, and return new samples, based on the SamplesIn Replay, ReplayStartTime and ReplayStopTime values.
3 Wait for samples. Call this check for if all the samples have been received. The Value GotSamples is set true when all the samples have been received.
4 Update acquisition unit with capturing samples. Can be used to update the signal generator values for example.
5 Finish. Call this to close down the acqusition system

Sampling time (post by cschaal)

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:06:58 +1300

Another thing we never used for a long time is a different starttime than 0s. Even though the returned t0 is correctly adjusted to given starttime and trigger point, the samples in e.g. ReplayData.ChanAData.Value(1:NumSamples) do not correspond to that starttime/t0. The first sample in the data always correspond to time = 0s and not the desired starttime.
Do we have to pick the right samples from the channel data ourselves (e.g. by taking only 2350:NumSaples data points)?

USB3 scope? (post by Basil)

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:43:10 +1300

Thanks for the detailed reply, when you say "our new unit" are you speaking of the USB3 one when it is released? If so can you give me any idea at all of pricing? Thanks, I appreciate the depth of reply you gave me, all the best.

save MATLAB format (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:34:23 +1300

Its been a while, but we have now automated the Get Frame process. Click Autoget, and every frame transfer (and save) is a full buffer.

In addition we have added 4 matlab functions that you can call using Maths Equation builder. This allows you to pipe data directlt to Matlab live. See the Help button in the Maths Equation Builder. We have examples in the manual. You can send full buffers to Matlab without problems.

B as external horizontal (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:31:40 +1300

Hello,
Perhaps it is already there. We call it the X-Y graph. use View/XY Display to see it.

It displays A on the vertical and B on the horizontal. You can do curve tracing by using the CS700A sig gen to generate a DC ramp to stimulate the device under test (eg FET, diode, Valve), and then using A to look at the result (eg current), and B the stimulus (eg Zener Voltage).

To make a low frequency Ramp, Set the Waveform to DC, set the Min and Max DC values, and the DC increment. Set the Sweep time. (Make sure Sweep method is set to Sweep ...)

Aquisition problem - Problem with the USB port (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:18:11 +1300

Dear Lord,
we have been trying to get to the bottom of this problem. We have not been able to reproduce it under USB. Interestingly, we can reproduce exactly the problem you are seeing when using an Ethernet connection, and this sequence:
1. Start up acuisition unit.
2. Start program, and acquire something. First acquisition happens correctly.
3. Leaving the acquisition unit connected, and powered up, exit the program, and then start it again. Click Auto as soon as it starts. If the time from close down to Auto is less than 10 seconds, we getthe USB disconnected message (the next version of the application correctly identifies the failoed connection). After a failure, if we wait more than 10 seconds, the acquisition unit starts correcty.

After some research, we discovered this was caused by the Windows (and Bit Defender does it as well) Firewall. It stops rapid disconnection and reconnection. Disabling the Firewall made the problem go away. This is apparently an anti-virus activity.

You are using USB, which is different. All the same, you might like disabling your firewall, just to check it out.

software for DSP? (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:09:59 +1300

Hello,
You should be able to use the Cleverscope application for real time frequency and time domain plots. Using the Maths equation builder, you can do filtering, integeration etc. If the Maths Equation builder is not enough, you can export to Matlab, process there, and bring the results back into Cleverscope for display or further work (eg saving).

The signal generator uses a stand-alone AD9834 DDS chip. The signal it generates is not available, other than as an estimate, to the acquisition unit. The only way is to digitize it!

timing bug--Ch B vs Ch A (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:05:24 +1300

At very low levels (5mV and less) we automatically turn on filters to reduce visible noise. To maintain phase coherence, use Settings/Acquisition Settings and turn off the filters. The low level signal will get a bit noisier as a result.

Error 1003 (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:03:30 +1300

We do have an environment installer, but the simplest way to get going is to install the Cleverscope application first. This should put the FTD2XX.dll (which is in the Drivers subdirectory off program files/cleverscope) somewhere visible, as it will do for the other archives.

integration using "db" (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:59:13 +1300

The goal here is to find total power in mW and dBm. To do this display power density in the spectrum graph, in mW/Hz, integrate it, and then display power in both mW and dBM in the Maths graph.

For maximum voltage accuracy, I used the Flat Top FFT Window. I set the transform type to Power Density. I assume a 50 ohm load, with a 1mW reference. Using V = sqrt (RP) = sqrt (50 * 0.001) = 0.224V, I set the Channel A reference to 0.224V in Analog Names and Units.

I set the Frequency Graph Linear A Units to mW/Hz and the name to Pwr Density. The spectrum source is Scope.

For the Maths graph I set the A units to dBm and name to log Pwr, and the B units to mW and Pwr.

I was using a 5V p-p waveform. This is 1.77 Vrms. So we expect P = V2/R = 62.5mW. With a Flattop window, the power is distributed over about 4 frequency bins. In this example each bin is 977 wide, so the power density per bin is about 62.5/(4 x 977) = 16 uW/Hz. We display the power density in the spectrum graph. We see a peak of about 17 uW, which is about right.

The Maths equation graph integrates the power density, showing total power at the right hand end. We send it to the B channel as mW, and find 10 log(P) for dBm and send it to the A channel. This means that you see both linear and dB on the same graph. Use Fit to make the Y axis right.

The Maths graph has the X axis set to Hz and Freq (in Analog Names and Units), and the source set to Spectrum.

We hope this works for you! See the Scope, Spectrum and Maths Graphs below.

Rise time / Fall time (post by bartschroder)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:43:29 +1300

Hello Vikas,
We have a new update in the downloads page that gives you pulse information.

Use View/Signal Information to see the signal information. Then select the 'Pulse' option for Time Info. This will display a variety of pulse information. The rise and fall times are labelled as 0 -> 1 Time and 1 -> 0 Time. They are measured between the 10% and 90% amplitude points, and use interpolation to improve accuracy. To get best results make sure that the time axis has sufficient resolution for the waveform you are measuring.

The pulse system handles both positive and negative logic, and assumes that the waveform level at the left hand side of the scope graph is the '0' level. Move the graph around to get it the way you want.

You can also send the pulse values to Excel using DDE. See Help/About DDE..

We have also added a new 'Count' process to Maths, so that you can count pulses in an interval.

Rise time / Fall time (post by vikas_711)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:06:29 +1300

Does cleverscope has option of showing rise time / fall time of pulse?
or we have to calculate it by zooming the graph?

Cscope Control Driver.dll , WIn7 64 bit (post by vikas_711)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:01:11 +1300

Thanks
And let us know when its completed.

integration using "db" (post by bnevins)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:41:44 +1300

I have the maths graph set up as source = spectrum graph
and b = integral of a.
When Y-axis is in "V" the integral looks correct.

When the spectrum graph is set to display in "db",

Then the db value is integrated, not the voltage.

I want to be able to look at the spectrum in db, and still do integrals
on the voltage!

B as external horizontal (post by bnevins)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:18:55 +1300

Make possible a new kind of display, in which Channel B controls the X-axis, similiar to the
external horizontal input on traditional scopes. One use for this would be to turn the CS into a curve tracer, where chA is current , ch B is voltage.

Error 1003 (post by Hugo_8)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:16:06 +1300

I just downloaded Cscope control driver for LV2011. I am trying to run the Simple Scope.vi.

When I run the program it starts to look for the FTD2XX.dll and other archieves. Then it displays an error message with the 1003 code.

How can I solve this?

Thanks.

timing bug--Ch B vs Ch A (post by bnevins)

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:56:16 +1300

Channel B is delayed relative to A, at low signal levels. To observe this, one needs to send a large signal to Ch A, and trigger on Ch A. Attenuate the signal by 60db and connect it to Ch B. Keep zooming the vertical axis of B, and the signal will shift by about 250ns (90 degrees at 1Mhz).

If you sweep the frequency, put the scope in gain phase mode, and B phase will be linear
In frequency.

The two setup files (*.apc) demonstrate the problem. The differ only in the y-axis zoom on Ch B.

Phase_bug.doc shows the hardware setup with the attenuator connections.

Cscope Control Driver.dll , WIn7 64 bit (post by bartschroder)

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:59:28 +1300

Hello Vikas,
You are absolutely right - the current DLL only works with 32 bits. Unfortunately our current toolset cannot produce a 64 bit compliant DLL. We have upgraded our toolset, and are in the process of producing a 64 bit capable DLL.

USB3 scope? (post by bartschroder)

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:57:29 +1300

Hello Basil,
We will be bringing out a USB 3 scope, but it is not ready yet.
However, our existing scope, with USB 2, can stream 2 analog channels + 8 digtal channels to the PC at 1.5 MSPS. This is probably fast enough for detecing engine glitches. You can stream for around 400G samples (74 hours at 1.5 MSPS).

Alternately, if you can define a trigger event, you can save time stamped files to hard drive every time a trigger occurs. In this way you can take snap shots of the trigger event (before and after) at full rate (100 MSPS), and then examine each trigger as a slide show later. You could leave it running over night for example.

For streaming, acquisition memory is only used as a temporary buffer - the main storage is on disk. For instantaneous capture sample memory is important. Our current unit has 8M sample memory per channel, but this is split into two or more 4M frames. A 4M frame means you can capture 80ms with a 10ns resolution. With an engine, I would have thought you could sample slower than this, and therefore get more time - for example 4 seconds at 1us sample resolution. If you want more, that's where the streaming comes in! Our new unit offers 512 M samples of high speed storage per channel.

Cscope Control Driver.dll , WIn7 64 bit (post by vikas_711)

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:16:15 +1300

HI
I am not able to use Driver.dll with Win7 64 bit.
I have downloaded "Cscope Control Driver v25 DLL" and placed Driver dll and FTD dll in same folder.
In code have given the path for dll.
I am using vb.net, vista 32 bit. All works here. (with 32 bit)
But not in Win7 / 64 bit.
I have installed dot net framework, LV runtime engine, NI Visa (64)
I read pdf file.
You will have to have the two files ‘Cscope Control Driver.dll’ and ‘FTD2XX.dll’ either in Windows/System32 or Windows/SysWOW64 (64 bit systems) as the most general case, or put them in the same directory as your development files, and in the directory with the resulting .exe. Only one copy of ‘Cscope Control Driver.dll is included, at root of the zip. If you use the installer, the dll’s are automatically copied to the system32 directory.
I copied both files as mentioned.
I am getting "System.BadImageFormatException" when dll function is called.
1) Is this Control dll file is for both 32 and 64 bit?
2) Where else i have to copy these files?
3) From where i can get Cscope Control Driver.dll for 64 bit?

vikas.sharma711@gmail.com

Thanks
Vikas Sharma

Aquisition problem - Problem with the USB port (post by LordNelson)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:54:46 +1300

Dear bartschroder,
Thanks for your response!
I have tried your suggestion to remove all other USB devices (of which no one should normally have high bandwidth usage), but there was no change of the problem.
My device is the same I have already used before; it is not new.

But now I noticed a regularity of the behaviour:
Always exactly 10 seconds after I have turned off the aquisition, Windows seems to disconnect and reconnect the device as I hear the typical sounds for that. Only after this strange automatic reconnect, I'm able to start a new aquisition. Once it is started, it can last forever without any problems. Starting aquisition during these 10 seconds results in the behaviour I described in the first post: an activated button, but no data update.
So maybe it is a Windows problem? But I can't think of any reason why Windows would want to cut and reestablish the USB connection always 10 seconds after an aquisition has been stopped...?
Oh, besides: The error message "problem with the USB port" occurs only when I try to start the aquisition during the time of the reconnect (about 1 to 2 seconds long).
Did you ever hear of something like this?

Sampling time (post by cschaal)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:37:10 +1300

Hey,

thanks for letting me know about the new implementation. All fine with me. I was just worried if there is some error in our code or in the DLL which causes the changes to t0. Having a stable trigger point seems more important than having t0 to be equal to the desired starttime.

Aquisition problem - Problem with the USB port (post by bartschroder)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:07:14 +1300

Dear Lord,
Our first guess is that you have an interfering USB device that is hogging bandwidth. An example is the PicKit device. Try unplugging other USB devices and seeing if anything changes. Have you recently acquired a new device? We would not expect the Cleverscope app to behave the way you are describing!

Sampling time (post by bartschroder)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:58:54 +1300

Hello Cschaal,
Small changes to t0 are made to estimate the trigger transition point, to stop jitter in the displayed waveform. This functionality was added to 2.5, as a result of user request. As an example, say the trigger threshold is 0V, and the sample before the trigger is -1V and the trigger sample is 1V, we use linear interpolation to estimate a corrected trigger time of -5ns. We subtract the correction from t0. For this example if t0 had been -10ns (so we could see the sample before the trigger) it would not become -10 - (-5) = -5ns. The trigger point (0V) would now be at 0ns (rather than at -5ns), and the next sample at 5ns and so on.

Our applications graphing software allows the t0 time to change in this way, so that the trigger point remains stable (rather than jittering over -5 to +5ns). If this is not a behaviour you want, what would you suggest?

Sampling time (post by cschaal)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:08:23 +1300

We recently noticed that with the current DLL v2.5 the sampling time vector/array is not what we expect.
For example, we want to measure in between 0s and 8e-4s. So we set
obj.AcquireDefinition.value.StartTime=0
obj.AcquireDefinition.value.StopTime=8e-4
and run update/acquire etc. All works fine but in the ReplayData the t0 is not equal to the StartTime but slightly off, e.g. t0 = double(obj.ReplayData.t0.Value); % (which is t0=-1e-8)
Since we calculate the time vector with t0:dt:t0+dt*(NumSamples-1) of course the stoptime is also wrong. Even more weird, sometimes t0 is correct. But we couldn't determine a logic behind this.

Does anyone have/had the same experience? The code worked with previous DLLs.

USB3 scope? (post by Basil)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:57:22 +1300

I believe you are bringing a USB3 scope to the market place with isolated inputs and ethernet PC link?

I am looking for a USB scope that will allow fast streaming of automotive data when looking for intermittent engine glitches. Are you yet able to say when these might hit the shelves, and how much acquisition memory they will have, i am really hoping at least 32m to compete with or hopefully surpass the Pico automotive scopes. Thanks, if you have even the roughest guide to pricing i would be extremely interested to hear it. Good luck, I am hoping streaming via USB3 will make my diagnostics easier.

Aquisition problem - Problem with the USB port (post by LordNelson)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:15:00 +1300

Hello everyone,

I'm using a CS328A (serial number > 4000) via USB on a WinXP machine with the standalone cleverscope software.
Everything worked great some weeks ago, but when I tried to scope something again yesterday, I was suddenly confronted with those problems:
- When starting a continuous capture ("Auto" button), it needs about 2 seconds until I see the first frame. Before, it started nearly instantaneous.
- In most cases, aquisition won't work at all (whether triggered or not doesn't matter). The button looks active, but nothing happens. Sometimes, an error message will occur, telling me that there is a problem with the USB port, sometimes not. Sometimes, aquisition will start after several tries and wait times, sometimes not.

I haven't changed anything regarding the scope drivers or application, so this behaviour was strange enough. But then, I tried
- changing the USB port
- changing aquisition/trigger/program/view settings in every way
- updating the cleverscope software to the newest version
- uninstalling and reinstalling VISA driver and application
and still, the problem remains.

Does someone have a clue how and why this happens, and how to get the scope to working properly again? I can't work with a scope that will aquire only sporadically...

software for DSP? (post by bnevins)

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:57:46 +1300

I want to use CS328A as a platform for signal processing.
I will be doing fairly simple operations on inputs a and b using the signal generator amplitude, frequency and phase.

The output will be real time plots in the frequency and time domain.

What is the best (easiest) software for this, and how much will it cost?

I could almost use the Maths equation builder, but I can’t see how to get the
Signal Generator in except by connecting to Channel B and digitizing!

Averaging problems (post by bwc2)

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:34:09 +1300

never mind. I just tried it using a different source and it works fine. I think I had my delay set too high that it wasn't working